Having lost their only natural right back in Hector Bellerin on Tuesday, Barcelona have looked set to replace him with LA Galaxy’s Julian Araujo.
As reported by Fabrizio Romano, a deal has been agreed between the two clubs for the permanent transfer of Araujo, which would see him join Barca Atletic initially. However, he is expected to be in and around Xavi Hernandez’s first team squad.
According to Relevo journalist Toni Juanmerti, Barcelona will pay €2m for 50% of Araujo’s player rights, with the potential for another €2m to be spent on another 40%. A deal had looked certain, despite the deadline, but it appears that is not the case anymore.
Juanmarti reports that there is a belief that the papers for Araujo’s transfer may have arrived after the deadline, which would cause the deal for fall through.
This would leave Barcelona without a natural right back for the second half of the season, with the Blaugrana set to compete for three trophies. As such, they are expected to approach FIFA on Wednesday in order to present their case in order to push the transfer through.
